P4 Stuck 100 Ft in Tree

charlieWhelan · Mar 22, 2016

Thought I would share my mistake for all to enjoy. On Sunday, I was trying to do a low fly by over the tree tops in sport mode. I caught the top branch of an enormous tree. The drone was perfectly hung up 100 FT HIGH, and snow was coming that night..

Had to get a bucket lift to come out on Sunday. He raised the bucket just over 70FT and used a 25 hook poll. It took about 10 minutes total. The only damage was to the props and battery that popped out. the body and gimbal did not even have a scuff. It didn't really crash as much as get hung up in the tree.

I have a P3P and p4 and have only crashed twice, when people are watching.. im a sucker for showing off how well I can crash.

Good luck out there & stay out of the trees - for your wallet's sake.

m0j0 · Mar 22, 2016

Pretty impressive... A tree huh?

Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app

Air Ontario · Mar 22, 2016

Glad you retrieved it. Ouch, on the wrecker billing.........

John Locke · Mar 22, 2016

OK, I gotta ask. What's that cost to get a Phantom out of a tree like that? I just want to know how much to expect to pay when I do it. I know someday it will happen.

charlieWhelan · Mar 22, 2016

John Locke said:
OK, I gotta ask. What's that cost to get a Phantom out of a tree like that? I just want to know how much to expect to pay when I do it. I know someday it will happen.

The guy who owns the truck is friends with my Girlfriends family. It was a favor, I just gave him a well deserved tip....I can only image how much I could have been dinged for a Sunday short notice recovery ...

eaglegoaltender · Mar 22, 2016

Man oh man talk about lousy luck............maybe buy yourself a pair of tree/hydro pole climbing spikes (for the next time) - strap em to your legs - dig the spikes in one step at a time and climb (using a wrap around the tree trunk belt or rope as you go).

Well actually there likely will not be a "next time" ---------- right!

Air Ontario · Mar 22, 2016

Yep, I have a pair of Buckinghams. Or be sure to keep that girlfriend.......lol

Hovtech · Mar 22, 2016

That must have been the P3. Your P4 would have avoided that.

Jpooner808 · Mar 22, 2016

That happen to someone else on this board with a p2. Reminds me of this video and we should use our old P2's to rescue other phantoms.

Sinisalo · Mar 22, 2016

Hovtech said:
That must have been the P3. Your P4 would have avoided that.

He said he was in sports mode, no collision avoidance there.

Squirrel! · Mar 22, 2016

I thought the P4 had a collision avoidance system????

Tim in Florida · Mar 22, 2016

Awesomely cool of you to share that! Risked big ridicule!

Glad you won! Keep that girlfriend!

Uavenue · Mar 22, 2016

Mind we share your gi........

Never mind.

BlueSkies · Mar 23, 2016

Squirrel! said:
I thought the P4 had a collision avoidance system????

Not in S mode.

Bocephus-73 · Mar 23, 2016

Gut feeling tells me Amazon has already invested a lot of R&D into rescue drones --- their prototype delivery UAV looks really expensive and I doubt they wanna leave that thing stuck at the top of tree in a dense forest where a bucket truck can't access!

fastsmiles · Mar 23, 2016

Thanks for sharing, I feel better now. My tree was only 20' tall.

Ramphex · Mar 23, 2016

How did the battery pop out and how much damage to it from that fall?

charlieWhelan · Mar 23, 2016

Ramphex said:
How did the battery pop out and how much damage to it from that fall?

I have no idea how the battery popped out. There is no damage to the clasp or anything. The battery did fall 100 feet so there is some damage. No cracks, but a few minor dents on the actual battery. It doesn't reliably charge and when I inserted the battery in the drone, it powered up without me turning the battery on.... Right now the battery is outside in a LI-PO fire bag, waiting for me to correctly dispose of it.

Aside from the props, there was no damage to the drone.

charlieWhelan · Mar 23, 2016

Jpooner808 said:
That happen to someone else on this board with a p2. Reminds me of this video and we should use our old P2's to rescue other phantoms.

Very cool! for a split second I thought of using my P3P with a long hook, but you know what they say... 1 in the hand is worth 2 in the bush